The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Chrysanthemum plant, botanically known as Chrysanthemumxc3x97morifolium and hereinafter referred to by the name xe2x80x98Spicy Yocherylxe2x80x99.
The new cultivar is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Fort Myers, Fla. The objective of the breeding program is to create new garden-type Chrysanthemum cultivars having inflorescences with desirable inflorescence forms, attractive floret colors and good garden performance.
The new Chrysanthemum is a naturally-occurring whole plant mutation of a proprietary induced mutation that originated by exposing unrooted cuttings of the Chrysanthemum cultivar Yocheryl, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 11,846, to X-ray radiation in July, 1998, in Fort Myers, Fla. The new Chrysanthemum was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a single flowering plant within a population of flowering plants of the irradiated selection in January, 1999 in a controlled environment in Fort Myers, Fla. The selection of this plant was based on its desirable inflorescence form, attractive ray floret color and good garden performance.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal cuttings taken in a controlled environment in Fort Myers, Fla. since March, 1999, has shown that the unique features of this new Chrysanthemum are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.
The cultivar Spicy Yocheryl has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature, daylength, and light intensity, without, however, any variance in genotype.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98Spicy Yocherylxe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Spicy Yocherylxe2x80x99 as a new and distinct cultivar:
1. Upright plant habit.
2. Freely branching, dense, full plants.
3. Uniform and freely flowering.
4. Decorative-type inflorescences.
5. Dark bronze-colored ray florets.
Compared to plants of the cultivar Yocheryl, plants of the new Chrysanthemum flower slightly earlier and differ in ray floret color.